Cuba makes achievements in nuclear technologies for health

Cuba is correuntly considered one of the relevant nations in the development of nuclear technology with applications in medicine, it was revealed on the first day of the Regional Workshop on Sanitary Regulatory Requirements for Radiopharmaceuticals.

According to the Program Officer of the Human Health Division of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Enrique Estrada Lobato, “for many years the development of the nation in this area has been crucial to train professionals and also Cuban experts has helped us train people in Latin America.”

The expert, who is participating along with thirty guests from 12 Latin American countries in the regional meeting at the Palco Hotel in Havana, stressed that this workshop brings together the experiences of Cuba and other nations in the areas of regulation and production of radiopharmaceuticals.

The director of Science and International Collaboration of the Nuclear Energy and Advanced Technologies Agency at the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment (CITMA), Manuel Fernández Rondón, pointed out that the event is a conclusive framework for producers and regulators in order to reach regional consensus on good production practices in this field.

“This issue is very important and necessary for the distribution of these products in the region,” said Fernández Rondón, who is also in charge of technical cooperation with the IAEA on behalf of the CITMA.

At the opening presentation of the event, the head of the Specialized Center for Diagnosis and Therapy of the Center for Medical and Surgical Research (CIMEQ), Mayka Guerrero, pointed out that one of the purposes of the workshop is to share experiences in compliance with regulatory requirements during the approval of radiopharmaceuticals.

The IAEA defines radiopharmaceuticals as medicines that contain, radioactive forms of chemical elements called radioisotopes, among other ingredients.

Depending on the type of radiation produced by these radioisotopes, they can be used to diagnose or treat various health problems.